


The Sorcerer and the Would-Be King

by VeryImportantDemon



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Angst, Arthur is sad, Children, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gaius tells stories, M/M, Merlin is sad, various children make an appearance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-28
Updated: 2015-12-28
Packaged: 2018-05-09 22:37:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5558183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VeryImportantDemon/pseuds/VeryImportantDemon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There is a king, a great one, but he sad. He is sad for the loss of love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Sorcerer and the Would-Be King

**Author's Note:**

> I have no earthly idea what I just did. Enjoy, I suppose?

There is the king of Camelot and they call him the Sad King.

  
He is a brilliant King, the best king citizens of Camelot have ever seen. He is just. He is righteous. He is good. He helps his people. He is a great king.

  
But he is sad.

  
He is so sad.

  
Some of the Knights claim they have seen him happy, but it is not a real happiness. It is not a true happiness. It is momentary happy, and he goes back to being sad.

  
There are stories, as there always are, as to why the Sad King is sad.  
Some say he lost a battle or riches, but he is not that shallow to be sad for that long.

  
Some say he lost a family member. That is closer to the truth.

  
Some say that he lost a love.

  
There is one old man, another sad man, who knows the true story.  
He is the court physician, and sometimes, in secret, he tells it to the children, the only ones who care enough to listen.

  
He tells a tale of a day when sorcerers are shunned and magic is a punishable offense. He tells of two men, a sorcerer and a prince. A sorcerer and a would-be king. He tells a tale of two men, and how they were best friends and lovers. He tells about how the Would-Be King and the Sorcerer are inseparable, attached at the hip as it is. They are better as one, the old man tells whoever listens.

  
The old man tells of happy days, when the Would-Be King and the Sorcerer were together. The Sorcerer wants nothing more than to see the Would-Be King on the throne and the Would-Be King wants nothing more than the Sorcerer by his side.

  
But the tale darkens as the old man speaks.

  
The father of the Would-Be King wages a war on sorcerers, and among them, the best friend and lover of his son. None are spared.  
The Would-Be King finds him, finds his friend, his lover, and he raises the horn to his lips, the signal for a sorcerer being spotted.

  
The Sorcerer panics. He doesn't want to leave. He loves the Would-Be King. But if the Would-Be King will be safe, he will leave. But if the Wold-Be King blows the horn, the Sorcerer cannot leave. If the horn sounds, the Sorcerer will be killed.  
The Would-Be King is kind and just and righteous and above all, he loves the Sorcerer.

  
He lowers the horn.

  
The Sorcerer escapes.

  
They are separated and they are miserable apart and the Would-Be King is sad without the Sorcerer at his side.

  
The Would-Be King is no longer a would-be. The Would-Be King is the king, and the Sorcerer does not see what he so longed for, and both of them are sad.

The Sad King changes his kingdom so one day it will be safe for the Sorcerer to return, but still, he is sad.

  
The old man tells the story, and he tells that this is where they are now. Waiting. The Sad King is waiting.

  
They know, now, the truth. They know now why the Sad King is the way he is. He is good and just and righteous and sad for the love of the Sorcerer.

  
And they want to help. The Sad King has been so good to them.  
So the children tell the tale to others and it is passed around. The message is strong and clear. Bring the Sorcerer home. Make the Sad King a happy one. They owe him so much, and this is the least they can do.

  
The Sad King hears the story. He hears what they are doing, and he smiles.

  
All for the love of a sorcerer...

  
For a moment, he is happy. But just for one.

  
One day, it is a warm, May day, there is a figure in the hill. The figure starts down it, and although the children have never met him, they recognize him instantly. He is the Sorcerer.

  
They pass the news through the town, and the news travels fast.  
The Sad King, the Just King, the Righteous King, the Kind King descends, and he is almost happy. For surely it cannot be the Sorcerer, his sorcerer.

  
The Sorcerer draws closer, and he enters the square.

  
The Sad King bursts through the door, and his blonde hair is messy and his cape is askew, and he stops.

  
The Sorcerer stops.

  
They both watch, and they are two.

  
Then, they are one, as they should be.

  
The Sorcerer and the Would-Be King.

  
The Would-Be King is not a would-be anymore and he is not sad.

  
Here is his sorcerer.

  
And this is the story of a would-be king and a sorcerer and a love.


End file.
